Federal Daily - September 25, 2008

VA Alters Compensation Standards; Adopts ALS as Presumptive Illness

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) on Sept 23 announced it will change the way VA evaluates traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and burn scars on its Disability Rating Schedule (DRS) that determines veteran injury compensation. Separately, VA also announced that it has approved amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as a presumptively compensable illness for all veterans with 90 days or more of continuously active military service. Regarding the DRS changes, VA said in a statement that it was revising the DRS in light of current scientific and medical knowledge, and that it could provide veterans with additional compensation. As of September 2008, there were more than 22,000 veterans being compensated for TBI, of whom more than 5,800 are veterans of the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. VA made the change regarding ALS after studies showed a connection between the disease and military service, with veterans developing ALS in rates higher than the general population, the agency said in a statement. ALS, also called Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a neuromuscular illness that affects about 20,000 to 30,000 people in the United States. It is often relentlessly progressive and almost always fatal. “ALS is a disease that progresses rapidly. Once it is diagnosed there simply isn’t time to develop the evidence needed to support compensation claims before many veterans become seriously ill.,” VA Secretary James Peake said. To see more, go to: http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1583 or http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1582 

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Grassley Questions Ethical Boundary at NIH

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, questioned whether the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is violating its own conflict-of-interest standards by retaining a medical expert who is also a high profile advisor and advocate for a cardiac device company. Grassley sent a letter Sept. 23 to NIH Director Elias Zerhouni asking about the employment status of Marvin Konstam, hired by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) last January as a senior advisor to NHLBI Director Elizabeth G. Nabel. At the time, Konstam was the chief of cardiology at Tufts-New England Medical Center and professor of medicine and professor of radiology at Tufts University School of Medicine. At the same time, Konstam also was the medical director for Orqis, a company that develops medical devices related to congestive heart failure. It appears that Konstam retained his position with both Tufts and Orqis. “NIH informed my staff last week that Dr. Konstam is a contractor with NIH,” Grassley wrote, “I’m concerned that the NIH may be avoiding intramural conflict of interest policies by hiring experts as contractors instead of as full-time employees.” Grassley pointed out that NIH has dealt with similar ethical issues before. In 2005, NIH adopted tough new conflict-of-interest policies for its scientists after revelations that some had questionable ties to the pharmaceutical and biotech industries. Grassley asked for details on how much money the institute has paid Konstam and what outside income he has received. The senator also was critical of the fact that Konstam had submitted an article to a scientific journal in February—a month after he started at the heart institute—that reported on an Orqis device. To see more, go to: www.senate.gov/~finance/press/Gpress/2008/prg092308.pdf.

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Army Corps Waives Recreation Fees

The Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) announced Sept. 22 that it will waive day use and camping fees for active service military personnel and DoD civilians who are on leave or returning home from an overseas deployment to a combat zone. The waiver will be available at the 423 projects the Corps manages across the nation. Active service military personnel and DoD civilians on leave will be required to show identification and leave orders upon arrival at the recreation sites to obtain the waiver, ACE said in a statement. The waiver also will apply to all immediate family members accompanying the servicemember on their visit. Fees will be waived on a walk-up and space-available basis, as well as for reservations made through the National Recreation Reservation Service call center. However, fees will not be waived for on-line reservations made through Recreation.gov, ACE said. The move expands the fee waiver program the Corps began in 2003 which had applied only to active service personnel on temporary leave from duty in Iraq. To see more, go to: www.usace.army.mil.

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